Velocity Physics Example 4

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Example 4

medium
A car accelerates from 10 m/s10 \text{ m/s} to 30 m/s30 \text{ m/s} in 5 seconds5 \text{ seconds}. Find the average velocity.

Solution

  1. 1
    For uniform acceleration, the average velocity is the mean of the initial and final velocities: vavg=vi+vf2v_{\text{avg}} = \frac{v_i + v_f}{2}.
  2. 2
    Substitute the values: vavg=10+302=402v_{\text{avg}} = \frac{10 + 30}{2} = \frac{40}{2}
  3. 3
    vavg=20 m/sv_{\text{avg}} = 20 \text{ m/s}

Answer

vavg=20 m/sv_{\text{avg}} = 20 \text{ m/s}
When acceleration is constant, the average velocity is simply the arithmetic mean of the initial and final velocities. This can also be used to find the total displacement: d=vavg×t=20×5=100 md = v_{\text{avg}} \times t = 20 \times 5 = 100 \text{ m}.

About Velocity

The rate of change of position with respect to time, including both magnitude and direction.

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More Velocity Examples

Example 1 easy

A car travels [formula] east in [formula]. What is its average velocity?

Example 2 medium

A cyclist rides [formula] north in [formula], then [formula] south in [formula]. What is the average

Example 3 medium

A particle's position is given by [formula]. What is the instantaneous velocity at [formula]?

Example 5 medium

A car drives [formula] north in [formula], then [formula] south in [formula]. Find: (a) average spee

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